Tooth-powder can.



No. 829,275. PATENTBI) AUG. 21, 1906. J. .E. LEE.

' TOOTH POWDER CAN.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. 1905.

WITNESSES INVENTOR By W AQL ATTORNEYS ml nomus PITIRI c0. wuumcroll. a c.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

JOHN ELLl/VOOD LEE, OF OONSHOHOOKEN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO JOHNSON AND JOHNSON, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, A COR POR-ATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TOOTH-POWDER CAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 21, 1906.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ELLwooD LEE, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Oonshohocken, in the county of Montgomery, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tooth-Powder Cans, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to receptacles adapted to contain tooth-powder, and particularly to that kind in which provision is made for more readily filling the bristles of either a straight or concave edge brush with powder Without danger of spilling the contents of the boX or forcing out any surplus or exposing too much of the powder to contact with the brush.

The object of my invention is to produce a receptacle which will be simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, and more efiicient in use than those heretofore produced.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a receptacle embodying the preferred form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan View with the cover thrown open. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a modified form of a detail, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of another modified detail.

The main receptacle A for the tooth-powder may be of any desired form, but is preferably oval, as shown, being considerably longer than it is wide, and it has an inwardlytapering upper part or neck B. The neck affords an elongated opening which should be at least long enough to permit the entire length of the tooth-brush to enter. In this neck I support in any suitable way a device such as a coil or spiral wire S, lying in a substantially horizontal direction in the opening, for holding enough powder at the surface to properly fill the bristles of the brush, and no more. In the example illustrated the coil S is held by the upwardly-curved metal strips M and M, which lie longitudinally of the elongated opening in the neck, one inside the coils and one below the coils, riveted or otherwise secured together at the ends, where bent spring extensions 8 s are provided to engage the contracting neck of the receptacle; but other ways of securing the spiral wire in place may be employed. A hinged lid L,

, sifting out, is provided.

i In use the hinged lid is closed, the can inverted to let the powder fill the neck of the can around the spiral, then with the lid still closed the receptacle is turned right side up again, leaving just sufficient powder clogged in the spiral wire S to suitably fill the brush. When the lid is thrown back, the bristles of the tooth-brush are pressed onto the spiral wire and the powder carried thereto. This spiral wire has several advantages over other constructions for similar purposes, for the coils present upwardly-projecting parts which push up between the bristles of the brush and evenly distribute the powder therein, and the surplus powder falls back into the can through the space between the coil and the sides of the neck instead of being forced out over the top or mouth of the receptacle, as heretofore. Moreover, the spiral wire, which is preferably curved upward, is especially adapted to fill brushes having a con cave edge. Also the lower part of the coils being closer than the upper part a more efficient background is formed for holding the powder. 4

I do not limit myself to a spiral wire held between two metal strips, for it is obvious that one strip would be suflicient if the coils were soldered thereto, as shown in Fig. 4, or a flat band S might be wound on edge around a mandrel s and accomplish the same purpose, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

It will be seen that it is characteristic of all these constructions that there is mounted on a support in the mouth of the receptacle means for holding the powder after the can has been inverted with projecting parts to enter between the bristles of the brush with the powder when the brush is pressed down onto the device.

I claim as my invention 1. A receptacle for tooth-powder having a neck adapted to allow of the insertion of the bristles of a tooth-brush, and a substantially horizontal coil in such neck, over which the bristles may be pressed.

2. A receptacle for tooth-powder comprising a body portion and a neck adapted to allow of the insertion of the bristles of a toothpreferably constructed to fit down into the neck to lessen the possibility of the powde brush, and-a support in said neck, in combi nation with a substantially horizontal coil in the neck on the support, for the purposes described.

3. A receptacle for tooth-powder, comprising a body portion and a neck, and a longitudinal support in said neck, in combination with a coil on the support leaving a space on each side between the coil and side walls of the neck of the receptacle.

4. A receptacle for tooth-powder, comprising a body portion and a neck adapted to allow of theinsertion 01 the bristles of a toothbrush, and a longitudinal support in said neck, in combination with means on the sup port presenting upwardly-projecting parts to enter between the bristles of the brush with the powder.

5. A receptacle for tooth-powder, comprising a body portion and a neck, and a longitudinal support in said neck, in combination with a coil on the support, and means at the end of said support for engaging the contracting neck of the receptacle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN ELLWOODA LEE.

Witnesses:

M. E. WRIGHT, E. M. LEWIS. 

